Former President Donald Trump’s recently released series of NFT ‘digital trading cards’ could potentially land him in legal hot water, as many appear to be infringing on previous designs.
Trump launched the line earlier this week, and while the images were mocked in sections of the left and right, they sold out of the first 4,500 that went on sale.
However, members of the media and Twitter users have pointed out that some of them appear to be based on unlicensed, copyrighted images.
Many of the designs — including a space suit and a cowboy getup — were previously seen on clothing websites and even stock photos, according to reports.
Former President Donald Trump’s recently released series of NFT “digital trading cards” could potentially land him in legal hot water, as many of them appear to infringe on previous designs
One of the images appears to be Trump’s head planted on something that strongly resembles a model for a Men’s Warehouse ad.
Another of the NFTs — depicting Trump as a cowboy — appears to be a photoshop of a model for a jacket sold on both Walmart and Amazon’s websites, according to eagle-eyed online users.
Another one showing the former president as a fighter pilot appears to be extremely similar to a Shutterstock image, with many of them resembling backgrounds that were available for free.
The company behind the images, NFT INT LLC, has not said whether it has paid for the license to use the images.
Crypto website CryptoVinco reported on Twitter that Trump could even potentially face a lawsuit for potential theft.
Trump announced on Friday that he had sold out of all 4,500 digital cards, which he had hyped earlier in the week.
OpenSea, an online marketplace, tracked nearly 12,000 sales as NFTs were traded. Most owners had a single item, but some owned more than 50.
One of the images appears to be Trump’s head planted on something that strongly resembles a model for a Men’s Warehouse ad. Another of the NFTs — depicting Trump as a cowboy — appears to be a photoshop of a model for a jacket sold on both Walmart and Amazon’s websites
Another one showing the former president as a fighter pilot appears to be extremely similar to a Shutterstock image, with many of them resembling backgrounds that were available for free
One Trump NFT has Trump Tower in the background. The former president announced that he had sold out of his digital NFT trading cards
Trump ramped up his promotional machinery this week to hype a “BIG ANNOUNCEMENT,” which turned out to be a scheme to sell digital superhero cards that look like him — with the $99 fee for himself, and not his one-month-old campaign to recapture The White House.
Trump’s “limited edition” trading cards are already sold out, according to the website he featured on Truth Social. But even visitors who missed the boat by getting a digital NFT of Trump decked out as a superhero, an outlaw, a shadow-wearing astronaut or corporate titan surrounded by gold bars will get a chance to enter the contest.
Like any other company or entity that wants to conduct a contest — a “sense game” — Trump is required by federal and state law to allow people to enter for free by offering an alternative method of entry, and is required to disclose the winners.
The fine print on a “no purchase necessary” guarantee in Trump’s contest lists a mailing address in Newark, New York, a small town between Syracuse and Buffalo. There, a letter containing a self-addressed, stamped envelope can get anyone a single entry (except in Vermont, where you don’t have to include postage).
Teri Pierce of the National Sweepstakes Company said the firm handled the free entries. It is located in a single-storey commercial building next to a Great Wall Buffet and a Bee-Tee’s Diner.
“Some consumers might think I don’t even have a chance to win, they could still win,” she told DailyMail.com.
Above is a photo of the new Trump digital trading card, which costs $99
Another has Trump surrounded by gold bars bearing his name. But the building of the company that administers the contests is a cottage in upstate New York
Two versions of Trump’s trading card. Purchase also includes an email to enter a competition
Anyone can participate in the competition, even without buying a digital card. The cards are sold out
An entity called CIC Digital LLC appears to have been created for the NFT sale
The company has also conducted competitions for some nationally identifiable customers.
The fine print in Trump’s digital trading card deal also lists the “sponsor” as another company, NFT INT, LLC. The Sponsor is registered as an LLC incorporated in Delaware.
A disclaimer, based on an arm’s length operation, states that ‘Sponsor is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Digital LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates. Sponsor is using Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and likeness under license from CIC Digital LLC, which license may be terminated or withdrawn in accordance with the Terms.’
It suggests that the Trump entity created for the NFT project is CIC Digital LLC, which was also incorporated in Delaware in March 2022. According to the New York Times, it was also incorporated in April 2021 with an address that matched the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The firm lists Nick Luna, a former Trump White House aide, as a director.
NFTs are non-fungible tokens, digital creations that can be sold and traded.
NFT INT, LLC lists an address in Park City, Utah that appears to be located in a strip mall off I-80. It appears to be either in or next to a UPS store, with other neighbors including a steam company, an Asian bistro, and a mattress store.
DailyMail.com has contacted both LLCs for comment.
Trump had hyped the digital cards online. “They will disappear, I think, very quickly!” he wrote on Truth Social — in a prediction that proved accurate.
The terms of the contest, which shoppers enter when they buy a card, although they could also enter for free, reveal that the total prizes are worth $54,695. Some prizes, such as a 30-minute meet-and-greet with Trump as part of a 200-person group, is listed as being valued at between ‘$0/Priceless.’
At least one prominent figure in the Trump world rejects the ploy.
“I can’t do this anymore,” said former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. “He’s one of the greatest presidents in history, but I’ve got to tell you: whoever — whatever business partner and whoever on the communications team and whoever at Mar-a-Lago — and I love the people down there — but we’re in war. They should be fired today.
Bannon took off on the Right Side Broadcasting Network after Trump’s big reveal. He was sentenced in October to four months in prison following his conviction on contempt of Congress charges.
